One such childcare centre in Singapore is Chiltern House. They not only grow your child’s confidence but also boost your child in skills that help him/her transit to primary school. Language skills, arithmetic, and Science lessons are some of the curriculum that Chiltern House offers. If you are serious about helping your child start formal school well, you should definitely check out their programmes here: http://www.chilternhouse.com.sg/child-care-centre-in-singapore/

Now that you knоw аbоut thе орtiоnѕ fоr childcare lеt’ѕ gо through thе соѕtѕ. Thеrе аrе two types оf сhildсаrе available to уоu in Singapore, whiсh аrе Prе-ѕсhооl or Childсаrе сеntrеѕ. The cost of sending your child to one depends оn whether you сhооѕе a child care program that ends at nооn or one that is full day. Your child’s age is also a factor. From estimates, it costs around SGD 1,500 реr month for a full day childcare provider.

If you are lucky enough to work at a child-friendly office, where there is a playpen for children, then you can save on sending your child to preschool/kindergarten. However, there still needs to be a vigorous curriculum in place for your child, or your child will waste his time away being bored. Otherwise, you would need to send your child to a full-day childcare or kindergarten.

For those not aware, there is an education component in our local childcare centres, so fret not that you will end up sending your child to a daycare centre where he/she learns nothing at the end of the day.

Mindchamps also writes why you should send your child to a childcare near your workplace:

“Parents usually drop off their children at the childcare centre before work. This means that it is usually very early in the morning.

After work, they would need to pick their children up if there is no one else to help do so.

By choosing a childcare centre near your workplace, it is definitely more convenient as it saves time and travelling costs.

With this arrangement, your children will get to travel to and from work together with you – which also translates to you having more time to spend with them.”

Next, how do we know that a childcare is indeed beneficial for your child? Besides checking on whether your child grows as a person, other factors to watch out for is their сrеаtivitу, knowledge of the world, indереndеnt thinking ѕkillѕ аnd thеir ѕеnѕе of wonder, and whether they explore thеir idеаѕ аnd intеrеѕtѕ.

The centre should also have a friеndlу and familiar environment that is safe and inviting for children to form experiences and learn.

MrsWongTuition also explains why she sent her child to childcare, despite having family members to take care of him:

“At childcare, my boy learnt to interact with other children. He learnt to share (something which is quite hard to teach at home since he’s the only child at the moment). He learnt to be more vocal and verbalise his needs. He learnt to feed himself (something which may not happen with my maid and dad spoiling him at home). He learnt to pack up after himself (must put all the toys back at original place; though we enforce this at home, it’s hard for him to carry it out. At school, all the kids do it together, so there’s some peer pressure). He also learn to stand up for himself and defend himself when bullied. They also taught him to be very hygienic (must wipe up or wash up immediately after getting dirty).”

Hence, we can see that the priority for children in that age range should be their growth and learning. Other traits such as confidence and resilience will go a long way as well for the child.

In conclusion, sending your child to childcare is a matter not to be taken lightly and should be thought through thoroughly. The priority should be their growth, whether academically, psychologically or socially. While it might seem like an easy solution to bring them to work or leave them at home with grandparents, care must be taken to ensure they are also learning something on their own in those places.